This information is intended to provide clarity and transparency to parents or carers about what to expect from remote education.

The remote curriculum – what is taught to children at home

A child’s first day or two of being educated remotely might look different from our standard approach, while we take all necessary actions to prepare for a longer period of remote teaching.

What should my child expect from immediate remote education in the first day or two of pupils being sent home?

  • Our academy has clear information regarding a whole school closure.
    Remote learning plan
  • Your child’s teacher will contact you to discuss your child’s learning plan and the best way for the academy to provide the learning activities whilst your child remains at home.
  • All remote learning activities and resources will be uploaded to your child’s class on Microsoft Teams. You will be provided with information on how to access your child’s class team via email and also by clicking the link below:
    How to access Microsoft Teams
  • Resource packs will be provided by the academy as required and delivered to the child’s home address.

Following the first few days of remote education, will my child be taught broadly the same curriculum as they would if they were in school?

  • We teach the same curriculum remotely as we do in the academy wherever possible and appropriate to the age and stage of the child’s development or needs.
  • Your child’s teacher will use their knowledge of your child (how they learn, what their learning priorities are, with a focus on communication and what technology/resources they have access to at home) to put together relevant learning activities.
  • Your child will have a minimum of one face-to-face contact with staff and their friends on Microsoft Teams per week. This will be in an assembly and/or a social get together.
  • The activities will link into the current theme/topic to make the learning relevant so as on your child’s return to the academy they will not have missed big chunks of learning.
  • The activities provided will be short bursts of learning, which are easily resourced in the home, and there will be no expectations to print off resources at home or go out and buy resources. The academy will provide you with resources as required

Remote teaching and study time each day

How long can I expect work set by the academy to take my child each day?

  • We acknowledge that engaging your child in learning activities whilst at home can be challenging and sometimes not even possible. Therefore, we do not set time expectations for the time of day the activity will take place or the length of time your child needs to spend on the activity.
  • You may be aware that the DfE has set guidelines around the minimum number of hours for remote education. These are not applicable for your child. We ask that each day you attempt the activities which have been set by the teacher, these activities have been planned to enable short bursts of learning.
  • If your child does not want to engage in the activities set, please do not worry. Let your child’s teacher know and alternative activities will be suggested.
  • The priority for your child is to maintain and develop their communication skills where possible, so daily social interactions for your child are extremely beneficial.

Accessing remote education

How will my child access any online remote education you are providing?

  • Your child will receive their education through a mixture of videos, live sessions and activities which you can help them with at home.
  • Your child’s teacher will contact you to discuss how remote learning will be provided dependent on your child’s learning style and needs.
  • Activities and live sessions will be uploaded on Microsoft Teams. If you are unable or do not want your child to access Microsoft Teams, please let the teacher know and we will discuss alternatives such as resource packs which are delivered to your home.
  • The teacher will invite your child to live sessions which are taking place on Microsoft Teams.

If my child does not have digital or online access at home, how will you support them to access remote education?

We recognise that some pupils may not have suitable online access at home. We take the following approaches to support those pupils to access remote education:

  • If your child does not have access to digital technology and/or the internet, please let your child’s class teacher know during the initial contact conversation and they will pass this information onto the Senior Leadership Team for them to investigate potential solutions for you.
  • If you do not want your child to have access to digital technology and/or the internet, let your child’s class teacher know so as they can ensure the learning activities are provided via a resource pack which will be delivered to your home.
  • If you are waiting for digital technology and/or internet access your child will be provided with a resource pack.

How will my child be taught remotely?

We use a combination of the following approaches to teach pupils remotely:

  • Microsoft Teams will be used for live sessions and sharing electronic resources (planning, video/audio recordings, PowerPoints).
  • Weekly social interactions and class assemblies with their friends and the staff in class using Microsoft Teams. The teacher will set up a meeting time and you will receive an invite to join online. These will be the only sessions which have a time allocated to them.
  • Recorded teaching such as Oak National Academy lessons and YouTube. The links to the relevant pages will be shared with you via Microsoft Teams.
  • Resource packs produced by your child’s teacher which contain physical resources to enable your child to access the activities. These will be delivered to the child’s home address by the academy.
  • Ideas of activities given verbally by your child’s teacher after discussion with you.

Engagement and feedback

What are your expectations for my child’s engagement and the support that we as parents and carers should provide at home?

  • Honesty and engagement. If you cannot deliver the activities set, please tell the teacher, we know that engaging your child in learning whilst at home can be challenging.  This will enable the teacher to change the approach and suggest alternative activities.
  • To be kept up to date on how your child is doing in terms of their home learning. This can be via Microsoft Teams, Weduc, telephone call, email, etc, whichever method is easiest for yourself.
  • Parents can communicate with the teacher via Microsoft Teams, Weduc or the school office and can expect a reply within 24 hours during the academy’s normal opening hours.
  • An understanding that the academy has a legal obligation to provide learning for your child whilst they are at home.

How will you check whether my child is engaging with their work and how will I be informed if there are concerns?

  • During your initial remote learning conversation with your child’s teacher, you will be asked how you want to communicate with the academy regarding the activities your child will be accessing.
  • Your child’s teacher will have weekly contact with you to check how your child is engaging with the activities set.
  • You can upload photos or comments to Microsoft Teams or Weduc to show their teacher how they are engaging with the activities whilst at home.

How will you assess my child’s work and progress?

Feedback can take many forms and may not always mean extensive written comments for individual children. For example, whole-class feedback or quizzes marked automatically via digital platforms are also valid and effective methods, amongst many others. Our approach to feeding back on pupil work is as follows:

  • Your child’s teacher will have weekly contact with you to check how your child is engaging with the activities set. Your child will receive weekly feedback as a minimum.
  • Photographs of your child carrying out activities to be uploaded to Weduc or Microsoft Teams.
  • Teachers will look at the activities completed and provide feedback to the child either via yourself or to the child directly. This will be verbally via telephone call, Microsoft Teams or written feedback via Weduc, email, Microsoft Teams.

Additional support for children with particular needs

How will you work with me to help my child who needs additional support from adults at home to access remote education?

We recognise that some children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), may not be able to access remote education without support from adults at home. We acknowledge the difficulties this may place on families, and we will work with parents and carers to support those children in the following ways:

  • Your child’s teacher will maintain weekly contact with you to check how things are in the home.
  • If your child is struggling at home, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible, do not wait for the weekly phone call from the teacher.